Railway-tie.



H. L. HOLLIS. RAILWAY TIE. APPLIoATIoN HLM 0022.26. 190e.

Patented Decjlfl, 1909.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY L. HOLLIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAILWAY-TIE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY L. HOLLIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railway-Ties, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to railway ties, particularly to built-up railway ties.

My built-up tie possesses many advantages and desirable features not found in other ties. One feature 'is that the tie is built up of stock material, thus making its cost very little compared to other forms of ties in which the parts have a special form.

My improved tie is partly of wood and partly of metal. The wooden parts can be cut from stock lengths and the iron parts are of stock material, which can either be used directly, or in some cases formed into a more desirable shape. The wooden parts are of such dimensions that they can be readily treated with creosote or other preserving substance;

My invention and its various features can be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a tie showing rails in place thereon. Fig. 9. is a top view. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3, 3 of Fig. l; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a modified construction which can advantageously be used.

The tie has a main supporting member l in the form of a plank, which in practice may be about two inches thick by twelve inches wide. On this plank are two rail blocks 8, which are securely held in place on the plank. In Figs. l, 2 and 3 the means for securing the blocks to the plank is in the form of metal bars 4, of which any desired number may be used, two being here shown. The blocks at their top have grooves 5, the bars having rectangular loops 6 whose horizontal parts 7 lie in the grooves and whose vertical parts S iit snugly against the sides of the blocks. The bars may be held securely to the plank by any suitable means such las spikes, or by bolts 9 passing through the plank as shown. The depth of the grooves 5 is somewhat greater than the thickness of the bar section passing therethrough, so that rails l0 on the blocks will Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 26, 1908.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909. Serial No. 459,657.

practically have an all wood foundation. These rails may besecured to the blocks in any suitable way, as for instance by means of spikes l1. The complete ties may be laid on top of the road bed or buried in concrete or other ballast material. The plank being thin and the blocks being small, they can be practically saturated with creosote or other preserving material. The life of the wood can therefore be very much prolonged. The part l can also be cut from stock planks and the blocks 2 and 3 can be cut from stock timber. The expense of the tie as far as the wood part thereof is concerned is thus very little. The plank and blocks can also be of a cheaper grade of wood than the kind which is used for the all wood tie. The bars 4 can be cut from stock material and very readily be formed into shape. These bars, besides securely holding the blocks to the plank, also reinforce the plank, particularly the section between the rails which is subject to buckling under heavy traffic or where the ballast under the rails has sunk or become loosened. The rails being in contact only with wood, the track retains all the resilient qualities which the all wood tie possesses. The tie can be transported complete or can be built up at the place of consumption.

The weight and size of the material of which the tie is built up can, of course, vary, depending upon the traflic to which the track is to be subjected. lVhere the track is operating under very heavy traiiic conditions the planks, blocks and iron bars could be of heavier stock. In Fig. 4 is shown a modification which is perhaps more suitable for lighter traffic. In this arrangement we still have the planks l and blocks 2, but the iron bars are omitted and in place thereof pieces 12 of angle bars are secured to the plank and to the blocks, a common bolt 18 being preferably used for connecting the block to its two angle bars. The blocks in this construction are not grooved. The rail is secured to the block in the same manner as shown in Figs. l and 2. The angle pieces can be cut from suitable angle bar stock. This form of tie also can be shipped complete or built up at the place of consumption. I thus produce a tie whose construction is very simple and very inexpensive and which construction retains all the desirable features necessary for eficient and comfortable trame. The ties are Vvery readily kept in repair and worn-out parts replaced.

lil

IVith my construction it is also unnecessary to resort to special construction in order to accommodate the rails for curve work, it being understood in the art that at curves the rail gage is slightly longer. In my tie the tops of the blocks afford sufficient surface to give a wide range of gage.

Having thus described my invention I desire to secure the following claims by Letters Patent:

l. In a railway tie, thecombination of a wooden plank, bars extending longitudinally along the plank and secured thereto, there being loops formed in said bars at the ends thereof, and wooden rail supporting blocks held in said loops.

2. In a railway tie, the combination of a wooden plank, bars extending along the length of the plank and secured thereto, rectangular pockets formed in said bars at the ends thereof and rectangular rail supporting blocks secured in said pockets.

3. In a railway tie, the combination of a wooden plank, a wooden rail supporting block at each end of the plank, said blocks having grooves in their top side running parallel with the plank, bars extending along the length of the plank and secured thereto and bent to form rectangular pock- ,ets for receiving said blocks, said bars pass,- 

